Who has won it
Where it stays

Top 10 Stanley Cup Stories

10.  1996 – Colorado Avalanche – Sylvain Lefebvre

Many people describe winning the Stanley Cup as somewhat of a religious experience, so it wasn’t too surprising when Sylvain Lefebrve had his first child, Jade-Isis, baptized in the trophy. Ten years later, Andrew Hutchison of the Carolina Hurricanes wanted to do the same with his baby Cole, but the plane carrying the Cup was delayed, and the baptism went on without Lord Stanley’s hardware.

9.  1991 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Phil Bourque

Those who win the Cup earn an engraving of their names on the outside of the trophy, but Bourque has his name on the outside AND the inside. During his day with the Cup in ’91, he heard rattling, and attempted to make his own repairs. In doing so, he took apart the Cup and saw that some repairmen had scratched their names on the inside. Phil followed suit, and etched in: “Enjoy it, Phil Bubba Bourque, ’91 Penguins.”

2006 – Carolina Hurricanes – Doug Weight

8.  2006 – Carolina Hurricanes – Doug Weight

After hoisting the trophy and drinking out of it, eating out of the dish would probably be the next most logical thing. What better way to celebrate one of the sweetest moments of your life than with a giant ice cream sundae?

Doug Weight filled the Cup “with gallons of ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallows, M&M’s and chocolate chips decorating St. Louis’s largest ice cream sundae. The kids dug into the treat and polished off most of it.” Fortunately for Weight and his family, he had the Cup before our No. 6 selection, Kris Draper.

7. 1940 – New York Rangers – Lynn Patrick

The Rangers won their third Stanley Cup championship in 1940, and the same year the mortgage on Madison Square Garden was paid off. Management thought it would be symbolic to burn the mortgage in the Cup. The Rangers wouldn’t win the Cup again until 1994.

Some think burning an object in the Cup was sacrilege, and responsible for the Rangers’ 54-year Championship drought. Maybe it was the burning, or maybe it was Lynn Patrick and other teammates reportedly urinating on the Cup that evoked the curse.

2008 – Detroit Red Wings – Kris Draper

6. 2008 – Detroit Red Wings – Kris Draper

Here is the story that brought about this Top 10 list. If the Rangers had a 54-year curse for urinating on the Cup, Hockeytown USA might be in for a long drought.

A week after winning this year’s Stanley Cup, Red Wings Kris Draper put his newborn daughter Kamryn in the Cup where she did what newborn babies do. We’ll let Draper explain: “She pooped in the Cup…We had a pretty good laugh. I still drank out of it that night, so no worries.”

Now how about that ice cream sundae?

5. 1994 – New York Rangers – Ed Olczyk

The Rangers curse had finally been lifted and they were ready to celebrate! The Cup was brought on Letterman where they did Stupid Cup Tricks; it appeared on MTV, where it was filled with raw clams and oysters; but it’s most interesting use was reportedly as a feedbag.

Ed Olczyk was said to have fed the 1994 Kentucky Derby winner, Go for Gin, out of the Cup at the Belmont. Olczyk claims that he simply brought the Cup to the Belmont, and no horse ate out of it. Maybe eating out of the Cup would have given Go For Gin that little extra energy he needed to win the Belmont (he led until the final stretch where Tabasco Cat overtook him). It should not come as a surprise that following the Rangers’ time with the Cup, the NHL hired handlers to stay with it at all times.

1987 – Edmonton Oilers – Mark Messier

4. 1987 – Edmonton Oilers – Mark Messier

Mark Messier won the Stanley Cup championship six times over a ten-year span (1984-1994) and has a couple great stories to go along with the wins. The night after winning the Cup in 1987, Messier brought it to his favorite Edmonton strip club, the Forum Inn, and set it on stage with a dancer. No word on whether or not the Cup was a good tipper.

The following year, Messier dented the Cup and brought it to an automotive repair shop to get fixed. I wonder if the Cup is like a car to Messier. At first it’s really exciting, but then over the years it becomes a hassle that is in constant need of repair.

3. 1991 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Phil Bourque (AGAIN)

Bourque has the distinction of making the list twice, and both instances occurred in the same year.

In this story, Bourque learned the hard way that the Cup does not make a good flotation device. At a party at Mario Lemieux’s house, Phil Bourque jumped into the pool with the trophy. Obviously, the trophy sank to the bottom and had to be fished out. In the process, a piece of the Cup broke off, held together with duct tape. The Cup wouldn’t stay out of the water for long. Just two years later it found its way to the bottom of Patrick Roy’s pool.


2. 1906 – Montreal Wanderers

The Cup was just a quaint trophy in its early years, hardly the iconic figure it is now. The Wanderers hired a professional photographer to take their picture with the Cup, but upon completion the team forgot one thing: the Cup. It was then reportedly briefly stolen, then returned to the photographer, where the photographer’s mother used it as a vase for her geraniums.

1. 1905 – Ottawa Silver Seven

1905 - Ottawa Silver Seven

After winning the Cup, the Ottawa Silver Seven took the cup out for a night on the town. After consuming a few (dozen) adult beverages, they thought it would be a good idea to see if they could kick the Cup across the Rideau Canal. The Cup — at this point, only a cup; the layers were added later — was punted, but — surprise, surprise — didn’t clear the other end.

Fortunately, the canal was frozen over and they were able to retrieve the Cup the next morning.

Traditions

Started by the 1896 Winnipeg Victorias dictates that the winning team drink champagne from the top bowl after their victory.
Another tradition is the on-ice presentation of the Cup to the captain of the winning team after the series-winning victory, and the subsequent carrying of the trophy around the rink by each member of the victorious club. 
Another tradition or superstition that is prevalent among today's NHL players is that no player should touch the Cup itself until his team has rightfully won the Cup. Adding to this superstition is some players' choice to neither touch nor hoist the conference trophies.


Engraving Errors

Pat McReavy's name is misspelled "McCervy" as a member of the 1941 Boston Bruins.
Dickie Moore won six cups, his name was spelled differently five times. (D.Moore, Richard Moorem R.Moore, Dickie Moore, Rich Moore).
Glenn Hall's name was misspelled as "Glin" in 1951-52.
Bob Gainey was spelled "Gainy" when he was a plater for Montreal in the 1970s.
Ted Kennedy was spelled "Kennedyy" in the 1940s.
Toronto Maple Leafs was spelled "Leaes" in 1963.
Boston Bruins was spelled "Bqstqn" in 1972.
New York Islanders was spelled "Ilanders" in 1981.
One name was later scatched out. Peter Pocklington, a former Edmonton Oilers Owner, put his father's name (Basil) on the Stanley Cup in 1984. There is a series of "X's" over Basil's name.
In 1996, Colorado Avalanche's Adam Deadmarsh's last name was spelled "Deadmarch". It was later corrected, marking the first correction on the Stanley Cup.